


Into the Forest of Death

by OrangeBlossomAngel



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Crying, Dark, Depression, Drug Addiction, Drug Withdrawal, Eating Disorders, F/M, Friendship, Ghosts, Horror, Horror-Comedy, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Lots of Crying, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Modern Era, One-Sided Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Paranormal, Psychological Horror, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Suspense, Teenagers, Trauma, Weight Issues, repressed sexuality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 16:27:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19380439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrangeBlossomAngel/pseuds/OrangeBlossomAngel
Summary: Teenagers are most curious, leading them astray to dangerous adventures seeking harmless fun, to explore the unknown, leaves a daunting echo, resulting in taking home more than they bargained for.Malevolent entities sink their teeth into their deepest insecurities and fears, threatening what they know to be true.Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were inseparable, what's eating them up?





	1. いち

**Author's Note:**

> Originally, I uploaded this on another site and...no one is touching it so I figured I’d see if anyone is interested here. I try to make the chapters about 5k, if it were any longer it wouldn’t flow properly. No one has proof read this so... if anyone wants to, you’ll get the chapters before anyone. 
> 
> Feel free to drop me some constructive criticism and let me know if you enjoy the work! :) I’d love to read everyone’s comments. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the work.

     "Oh come on you guys! It's supposed to be spoooooky! Stop being such chickens." Naruto laughed at his two best friends. "Naruto," Sakura grit. "I think this is your worst idea yet." She groaned, more annoyed than scared, looking at the sun which was telling they had about an hour of sunlight left. Sasuke had pulled off onto the side of the road in order to qualm Naruto's persistent bickering about this damn haunted forest he had been so interested in the past week. "I already got you guys here common, let's just snoop around a little, I wanna see some ghosts!" Sasuke sighed, "Well I didn't drive us here for nothing." Sasuke took a couple steps into the forest, the crunching of fallen leaves and twigs under his feet broke Sakura out of deep thought. Sasuke look back as if to ask, are you coming? With a glare at Naruto, she stomped past the two boys into the sparse trees. "Yes!" Naruto cheered with excitement, following after them.

     The only noise they had been hearing for the past 20 minutes was the rustling leaves from their feet and an occasional flap of wings from birds whose quiet homes they disturbed. "This is getting kinda boring..." Naruto admitted. "Seriously? You've been bitching about this for a week." Sasuke stated, annoyed. "Who wants to see ghosts in their free time anyway?" Sakura chimed in. Naruto stopped from his current lead and turned to look at them. "What you've never been interested in knowing if ghosts are real?" He asked accusingly, regardless of the fact he wasn’t much of a believer himself. Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other defeatedly. "Yeah, but what is stomping around a forest that has only been the center of rumors gonna give us?" Sasuke questioned smartly, he rolled his neck, a long day at school to come and deal with this bullshit. Naruto gapped like a fish, without an answer, "Wha! Whatever I'm gonna see proof and you're gonna eat your words." He stormed off in another direction of dense trees, leaving the two to hesitantly follow him, knowing he's headstrong and will probably get lost without them. Sasuke irritatedly grumbled, "What a fucking dobe." "Tell me about it." Sakura replied. They trudged in silence for a bit more until the land they were walking began steadily increasing in incline. "What you're gonna make us exercise too?" Sakura called out to Naruto who was still trudging along, he flashed them a grin and continued on. 

     After a bit longer, they noticed Naruto had stopped and they took a moment to catch their breathe. Sakura gazed up, toward the sky. "Hey, I think we should start heading back, it's gonna be dark soon." She mentions to Sasuke as she looks at the orange sky. "Hn" Sasuke stretches his back a minute. "Watch this." Sasuke began sneaking steadily up to Naruto, he should be aware because of the leaves being so noisy but his focus was directed down the tree path. They both knew when he got tired he would get spacey, well, more than he usually is. Sasuke grabbed at Naruto by the shoulders from behind, "Rah!" He shook him a bit. This earned the raven a shriek from the blonde, causing a cascade of birds to hastily fly away. Not only that but he jumped nearly a mile away from him, falling on his ass after tripping over some tree roots that stuck up out of the ground. Both Sasuke and Sakura erupted into fits of laughter, "Hey teme!" Naruto yelled in anger, clutching his chest, still recovering. "You asswhipe, I thought I saw something and you just scared me shitless!" They giggled a bit more, "Oh, did you see a ghost Naruto?" Sakura teased. "I mean it! I though I saw someone! Even if it wasn't a ghost, I saw something!" "Tch," Sasuke clicked his tongue, "Was probably a squirrel." Sasuke nudged Sakura in the side and she giggled at that. "It's not my fault you made me scare it off!" Naruto whined. "You get so easily distracted, like a dog." Sakura commented. "What's that?" Naruto asked suddenly, looking past them, squinting. "Point proven." Sakura sighed. "Woof." Sasuke added, uninterested, growing bored. "Common, we need to get go-" "Guys." Anxiety was rising in the blondes voice. "Get up already." "Guys!" Naruto shoved a finger between them, pointing. They both looked back. Darkness is falling on them but something shifted behind a tree, soundlessly. Sasuke scoffed, "Common, your little squirrel friend isn't scary." He grabbed Naruto be his upper arm and hoisted him up. Sakuras gaze remaining for a moment longer, hesitant, a burst of anxiety blooming in her chest and fingertips. Sasuke dragged Naruto past her, snapping her back to reality. She followed after them fairly quickly.

     The sun was falling faster and faster, their destination back seemed even longer than the trek there. "I swear to god if we are lost..." Sakura muttered more to herself than the two boys. "Don't worry Sakura I will protect you from the creatures of the night!" Naruto sparked up, trying to lighten the mood. "As if you could." Sasuke grunted. Naruto pouted, crossing his arms. "I know we are not lost, I saw that on the way here!" He pointed to a random decrepit tree. "No shit, all these trees look the same!" Sasuke roared, irritated. "No, baka, look at the tree!" He pointed with ferocity. "Sorry, its a bit fucking dark to see any differences." He bit back. Naruto huffed and took out his phone and turned on the torch towards the tree. The tree was dead, if not, on its' was to falling over. What Naruto was speifally talking about was three symmetrical vertical knots on the tree. "See!" Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Isn't three a bad omen?" Sakura asks, feeling that same anxiety as earlier. Both boys shrug. "What, like demons and stuff?" Naruto asked, turning off his phone light. "Yeah..." A gust of chilly fall wind blew harshly against them, causing them to stand their ground for a minute. "Can we just get out of here already?" Sasuke groaned.  
     Far off, leaves crunched from the direction they were retreating from. In the last of the sun that was barely there, both Naruto and Sakura looked to Sasuke, obviously seeing him as the strong one. "It's just the wind you idiots." He said calmly. The crunching continued, coming closer, leaves turned over each other in waves, being pushed aside by an unseen force. The three stared in astonishment, as it came closer, a bitter cold wind followed, sinking the temperature to icy deeps. It swiped close to Sakura, and as if it were a rat, she picked up her feet, dancing around the lump as it circled her, she screeched and jumped into Sasuke’s arms, "Shi-" which he just barley managed to grab her and back up from the mass. "Let's get out of here!" Naruto yelped as it took interest in his feet and he did the same awkward dance Sakura did. He took large leaps towards the direction of the car, Sasuke following immediately after, Sakura still in tow. Without the sun, their steps were staggered and clumsy over the debris of the forest floor. Naruto looked back from his hasty pace to make sure the two were keeping up, but a dark figure, darker than the deepest black was just barley nipping at Sasukes heels. "Hurry the fuck up!" Naruto cried, earning a strap glare from Sasuke, who in turn picked up his pace.  
     In Narutos panic, when he turn back to continue his jogging, he tripped over what felt like a branch at first, but has he hurriedly try to untangle his foot, he found the branch had spiny fingers that tightly griped into the skin of his ankle. He let out an unmanly screech, "Ah! I'm gonna die!" He screamed, trying to pry off the black hand that had emerged from the ground. "Fuck shit fuck!" He desperately cried in unsuccessful attempts to pry off the attachment. "What are you doing!?" Sakura yelled, still safe in Sasukes grasp. "It's got me!" Naruto yelped, suddenly being drug the way they had ventured. Both Sasuke and Sakuras eyes nearly fell out of their head, "Naruto!" Sakura screamed. Sasuke basically dropped her and stuffed his hand into his pocket and shoved her his car keys, "Get it ready." He said before running after his friend.  
     Sakura stood, fearful for of the entire situation, it felt as tho her legs were loosing feeling, the feeling of blindness hazed her for a moment before she began running into the direction of Sasukes car. The raven hadn’t even let either of them drive when he dislocated his shoulder, though, this was different it seemed. Sakura repeatedly pressed the alarm button in hopes of finding it faster and not getting lost.  
     Sasuke found that Naruto had a death grip on some branches to avoid being ripped through the forest to where ever this thing wanted him to go. "Please get it off me!" Naruto yelled in panic as he saw Sasuke approach. Sasuke found the dark hand wrapped around Narutos ankle and tried removing it the way Naruto had, quickly finding that useless he began to stomp on the wrist of that thing, "Fuck!" Naruto yelled in anger as Sasuke accidentally stomped on his ankle. Sasuke raked his bangs from his face before digging in his pocket and retrieving a pocket knife. "Dear god!" Naruto cried, closing his eyes, unable to look any longer. Sasuke waisted no time flicking open the blade and stabbing the monstrous thing. The only result he got was another cry from Naruto, it seemed the hand dug its thorny bark like skin deeper into him. Sasuke slipped the knife between Naruto and the fingers of that thing. It was hard like bark! Sasuke fought with pulling the knife through a minute, having to resort to a sawing motion. "Shit." Sasuke whispered, breathless.  
     Meanwhile, Sakura had found the car and jumped into the drivers seat, diving the key into the ignition and turning it forward, for a moment it sounded as if the engine was going to stall but the roar of the engine rumbled. Flicking on the headlights, she had a crazy idea Sasuke would surely hate her for. Oh well.  
     Sasuke had removed the pinkie and ring finger of this thing and Naruto had resorted to trying to shake it off with little luck. A roar of a car and bright lights rushed towards them, temporarily blinding them. Sasuke grit his teeth, upset she had driven it on this terrain, but was thankful so he could get out of here much faster. Sakura rolled down the window to get a look at the situation, "Hurry up!" She yelled over the engine. Sasuke began her instruction, wedging his pocket knife between the remaining fingers and Naruto, he held it as far from his friends skin as possible as to not cut him but it was providing difficult holding Narutos foot in order to keep him still with the sawing motion. As his knife burst through, he nicked his forearm, he gave a hiss but that was not heard over the deep growl echoed deep within the forest, reverberating as if they were in a theater, it shook them out of their frozen state.  
     Both Naruto and Sasuke scrambled from the forest floor to get in the truck, Naruto was pushed in first before Sasuke. Sakura caught sight of a black mass rising from the scattered leaves, panic gripped her and she threw the truck into reverse. Before Sasuke could close the door, Sakura stepped on it, a cloud of forest debris was spat out in front of the car from the tires, blocking the horrific creature, they were flying off in reverse, away from the figure. The boys let out a curse, Naruto hung onto Sasuke as he almost flew out of the car. Sakura had stopped and Sasuke flew back into the car, sandwiching Naruto between himself and Sakura. Closing the door, Sakura flipped it back into drive and yet again stepped on the gas, veering left towards where she knew the road was.  
     Driving as fast as she was, a couple thin dead trees were basically steam rolled in the process. Sasuke turned back to look out of the rear, seeing a dark twisted face in the bed of the truck cause him to jump towards the dash, endless and pupils glowing yellow eyes glared at him like a predator. He lost sight off it by the sudden impact of the truck inclining. Time slowed, a dizzy feeling washed over them and the three felt their stomach jump into their throat as they caught air for a second. Dropping roughly onto the two way road, Sakura steadied the truck in the correct lane and sped off again. They were breathless and panting from all of the chaos. "Seatbelt," Sakura murmured to the boys who began putting them on, still in shock. They stared where the headlights shone the reflective yellow paint. They had a moment of calm, the adrenaline in their bodies flowing out in heaps, leaving an exhausted residue. A road sign passed which read, 'Thank you for visiting Konaha!' Though they just noticed they had gone in the wrong direction, no one uttered a word.  
     Sakura slowed to the speed limit about 20 minutes after their horrendous flight, her eyes scarcely leaving the rear view mirror. Lights began appearing, turning into signs of a gas station and Dennys. It was just a pit stop to the next town over. Sakura pulled into the gas station, to a parking spot, turned off the car and just sat there. All three of them sat in silence. "I'm driving." Sasuke uttered. "Have at it." Sakura said, tossing him the keys. "I'm gonna go see if they have bandaids..." Naruto added, looking over to Sasukes forearm which steadily trickled blood. Sasuke followed his friends eyes to his arm, "Shit, my seats." Sasuke said, observing his tan seats covered in a variety of debris, including dirt and drops of blood.  
     He hopped out, followed by Naruto, who stumbled into him, ankle obviously more injured than he thought. Sasuke slung his arm under Naruto for support and upon looking up, his face dropped, along with Naruto, “Hey!-” "My fucking truck. My. Fucking. Truck. My fucking truck!" He yelled, his hands made its way to his scalp, grabbing a fistful of hair. "My side mirror is gone! It's so fucked up!" Scratches and small dents littered the entirety of the truck. Sakura, who had rounded the front of it, had an ashamed and guilty look on her face. "I'm so sorry, Sasuke." Sasuke gapped a moment, knowing he was thankful for what she did, but it didn’t help. He let out a long sigh, hanging his head. "Let’s go get bandaids." They all stumbled into the convenience store, looking a hot mess.  
     The guy working the counter spared them a glance and gave a not very inconspicuous, "Damn," under his breathe. Sasuke and Naruto wandered to the section where they had some medicines and air fresheners in the shape of pine trees. Sasuke picked up some antiseptic spray and began looking for bandaids. "Here." Naruto picked up a box, it was bright pink and had Hello Kitty on it. "No." Sasuke said, glaring. "Dude, it's all they have." He confirmed, black eyes looked to the shelf where he'd grabbed it from and grumbled. Sasuke wandered to the back of the store, practically dragging Naruto like a rag doll in the process, where they had cold drinks, finding Sakura who had just come out of the bathroom. "Hey." Naruto acknowledged. "You guys just wanna go to Dennys?" She asked, giving a yawn, the boys replied with a shrug. "Monster?" Sasuke asked, handing her one. "Monster." She replied, taking the energy drink, "Me too, the blue one." Naruto added. They paid and gathered back in the car, Sasuke still grimacing at the damage.  
     They tended to Sasukes forearm, adorn with a line of sexy Hello Kitty bandaids to cover the length of the cut. Of course, Naruto had checked out his ankle, rolling up his bloody and ripped jean leg, it was bright red and looked like he took a hundred razor scooters with toothpicks taped to it to the ankle. He whined when Sakura sprayed antiseptic on it, complaining. He didn't get any bandaids, it was too scratched up to put one on without covering any cuts in the bandaids adhesive. Instead, they found some napkins that were lying around the truck and stuck it to his ankle with the help of the antiseptic and his blood, which had stained his sock and converse. Upon further review, Naruto ended up getting a couple bandaids on his fingers from when he was trying to pry off that thing. They weren’t too bad but they weren’t any paper cuts either.  
     Sasuke parked in the next lot over, Dennys. That beautiful and heavenly yellow sign guided them inside to be greeted with an obviously very tired hostess who looked about 3 minutes from quitting. "Follow me." She walked briskly to corner booth. "Here's your menus." She said handing them the plastic coated menus. "Your waiters name is Lee. He'll be right with you." Looking over them a second, she said, "You guys look like shit." before walking off. "Feel like shit." Naruto pouted. "So friendly." Sakura mocked, sarcastically. Some kid around their age came the the table, "Hello! My name is Lee, what can I get you guys to drink?" He smiled as if this was his favorite pastime. "Coffee." "Water." "Milk." Eyes looked at Naruto, "What? I like it..." He looked away, embarrassed. "I'll have that right out to you guys."  
     They're weren't many other customers here, so it seemed they'd have to think fast about what they wanted to eat. "It might just be me, but I have absolutely no appetite." Sakura mentioned, slouching back. "Yeah." Naruto agreed. Sasuke nodded, still looking at the menu. "So we're not eating then?" Sasuke wondered aloud. "I never said that." Sakura mentioned, looking back to the menu, Naruto doing the same.  
     Lee arrived with their drinks, he had put Narutos milk in a kids cup, causing his two friends to snicker. "We are all kids at heart," Lee said with a smile, "So, what can I get for you?" "Cheeseburger." "Cobb salad." "Chocolate chip pancakes." Lee wrote down their order, took their menus and was off again. Naruto sighed and played with his finger bandaids, earning a small slap on the back of his hand from Sakura. "How is your cut, Sasuke?" Sakura asked in concern. He lifted it to look at it, the bandaids soaked up small drops of blood, giving Hello Kitty an after cat fight look. "Fine." He looked at the dried blood running down to his elbow and tried to scrub it off, picking the bright red. Naruto reseted his chin on his palms, looking tired. "Just for the record," Sakura spoke, "I'm never listening to one of your ideas again." She directed at Naruto, who in turn, pouted, "I don't think I'll ever listen to myself again either, 'ttebayo." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I don't know why we listened to you in the first place, none of your ideas ever turn out good." Naruto straightens up, looking offended and glared at Sasuke, "Name one time we didn't have fun!" Sasuke and Sakura kooked at each other.  
"Frog hunting, lost my favorite bracelet."  
"Abandoned water park, dislocated my shoulder."  
"That one time with the rotten eggs." Sasuke nodded at that.  
"Last Christmas when I was blackmailed into being Santa at a charity event."  
"The skunk." They said in unison.  
"Tagging walls then being forced to scrub it off."  
"Sneaking into that adult shop." They all cringed and shivered.  
"Oh! Or that time Itachi almost murdered us because we tried spying on him."  
"Common, that was in elementary school!" He scoffed.  
"What about when we all got food poisoning after Naruto convinced us the meatballs were supposed to be red on the inside." Sakura suggested.  
Naruto grumbles and crosses his arms, feeling a tad bit bad. 

     Lee comes around with three plates and puts them down corresponding to the groups orders, "If you need anything else, feel free to let me know." They look at their food, beginning to feel a bit hungry and dug in. Sasuke had a couple of his fries stolen by his oh so innocent friends and in turn he stole a tomato from Sakuras salad and a big bite of chocolate chip pancake, which didn't go so well with his burger, but whatever. By the time Lee rolled around again, Naruto had finished off his milk and wanted another, considering it was a kids cup. Sasuke ended up convincing Naruto to try milk and monster mixed together. That ended with Naruto having wet jeans from spitting it out in immediate disgust and two laughing. Naruto laughed along even though his mouth was very unhappy.  
     They were really only able to finish about half of their meals despite stealing bits from each other. Sasuke checked his phone, "Shit, Itachi is gonna kill me." "Why? It's Friday, he knows we always do stuff on Friday." Naruto questioned, sipping his milk. "2 missed calls and one 'why won't you pick up?'" "Why do you think?" Sakura asks. "I'd say the lack of service in the woods sent him directly to voicemail." Sasuke hypothesized. "He probably called you guys too." Sakura pulled out her phone and checked her messages, "Oh yeah, he called me." Naruto started patting himself from top to bottom, looking confused. "Phone?" He got up and looked at his seat, "Phone?" He looked under the table. "Don't tell me..." Sakura started, "It's gone." Sasuke concluded. Naruto gave a huge sigh and lay in the booth, head resting in Sakuras lap. "Ew, you're all dirty." She stated, picking a twig and leaf from his hair. He whined, "I got dragged through the forest like a play thing, I'm sooo sorry I'm dirty." He said with a small hint of anger. "That was scary, what was th-" "Here's your check, no rush." Lee slide a check and pen onto the table. "Ah, I'll get it." Naruto stated, sitting up, digging through his sweater pocket, "Y'know as an apology...for this mess." He looked sheepish. "Don't bother", Sasuke said, "You'll need to buy a new phone. Save it for that." Sakura agreed, "He's right." Naruto sighed for the hundredth time. "Fine, but I'll make it up to you guys somehow." They just shrugged and Sasuke picked up the bill.

The drive back was fairly quiet, Sakura had begun nodding off, head resting on Narutos shoulder, who had been put in the middle again. Narutos head rested back, spacing out, tired as hell. "Hey..." Naruto turned to Sasuke, "By the way, thanks, for you know, coming back to save my ass." Naruto said in a whisper, as not to wake Sakura. "Was I just supposed to leave you there?" "Guess not."  
     They drove all the way to the residential district to drop off Sakura, who yawned and rubbed her eyes before bidding them a farewell with a kiss on the cheek for both of them, Of course only after scrubbing the blondes cheek as clean as possible, hopping out of the truck and right to the path of her door. Making sure she entered her house, Sasuke began driving again, "Uh, hey, could I stay at your place tonight?" Naruto questioned. "Why? You scared?" Sasuke teased nonchalantly. "N-no...." Naruto felt heat rise to his cheeks. "Liar." Sasuke smirked. "Okay, and? Maybe I am! Not like I can just go curl up with my brother when I'm scared." Naruto muttered. Sasuke in turn became flustered, "I haven't done that since I was a kid!" "Mhm, tell 'tachi that." Naruto yawned. "That asshole." Sasuke cursed. "Can I come over or not?" "Yeah, but you're taking a shower when we get there." "Whatever." "Can you return Itachis call for me?" "Yeah." Sasuke handed him his phone, which Naruto unlocked and dialed Itachi. 

"Hey 'tachi. Sorry Sasuke didn't pick up, he didn't have service."  
...  
"Lost my phone."  
...  
"Yeah, rough night, you could say that."  
...  
"We'll tell you later, what a trip."  
...  
"Yeah I'm spending the night."  
...  
"I'll make sure to tell him."  
...  
"Mhm."  
...  
"Yeah."  
...  
"Talk to you then."

 

"What did he say." "He wants to know what happened, said to tell you that he made spaghetti and to drive safe." Sasuke nodded, "What a mother hen." Naruto gave a small chuckle, "Yeah he's gonna beat your ass when he see's you got a little scratch." Naruto giggled. "What do you think he's gonna do to you when he sees your bloody napkin covered ankle."  
Naruto thought a moment, “That Sakura is going to be a great nurse." He answered matter-of-factly.  
"You'll have to if you tell him what happened."  
"And that’s my job, why?."  
"It was your idea." Sasuke turned onto his street, and parked his truck in it’s designated numbered spot. They gathered themselves and went inside to find Itachi in an apron, laying on the couch. Upon hearing them come in he got up to look at them. "The hell?"  
"Like I said, rough night." Naruto muttered, making his way to the kitchen. Sasuke departed to his room before reappearing with a sweatshirt on, to hide his sick Hello Kitty Bandaids. He found Naruto rummaging through their pantry and Itachi firing off questions. Itachi looked to Sasuke, arms crossed, with a, 'spill it' look. Sasuke groaned and sat on one of the barstools. "Naruto wanted to look around that stupid forest he's been talking about for weeks and we didn't have signal." Itachi sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Why does he look like that." Itachis gestured to the disheveled blonde. "I rolled down a hill." Itachi glared at the blonde, scaring him. "I-It was fun! Right Sasuke?" Naruto fronted, terrified of Itachis rath. Sasuke deadpanned, "Yeah oodles of fun." "What if something would have happened." Itachi asked in a mothering tone. "Then I guess we wouldn't be here." Sasuke remarked. Itachi burned a hole into Sasukes head before stalking off. Naruto sat next to Sasuke, bag of chips in hand. "Really? You didn't even finish your pancakes." Naruto let out a long whine, collapsing on the table. "But Doritossssss. Sasuke. Dooooriiiitooos." "Go take a shower, you smell like an animal." Naruto feigned offense, "Fine, be like that." He sashayed out of the kitchen, bag of Doritos in hand.

"Tell me I smell like an animal, teme, looking like a ducks ass..." Naruto grumbled as he entered Sasukes bathroom. "You look like shit, dumb waitress, at least I don't have a job I hate." He continued his small rant, turning on the hot water in the shower, he stripped himself of his dirty clothes and pulled a towel from under the sink. He stood there, as bare as a baby, analyzing small scrapes he had along his back from being dragged. "Who am I kidding, I don't even have a job." He looked down at his ankle, remembering the napkins, he tried peeling them off but they were stuck, "Ouch." Deciding the water was warm enough, he got in and let the calm droplets rush over him. Doing a 360, he hissed when the water ran over his back, soon the water penetrated the napkin, gently, but slowly, unsticking it from him. "Owwww." He grit his teeth, pulling the disintegrating napkin from his now swollen ankle.  
Sasuke watched a movie while waiting to be able to go into his room again, watching The Mask was a guilty pleasure for him. But he was feeling super tired, the kind of tired that made him feel sick. So, he flicked the tv off and retreated to his room, hearing the shower, he hoped Naruto wouldn't take forever and flopped belly down onto his bed. Usually they'd just sleep in the same bed when Naurto came over, it hadn't changed since they were kids. But Sasuke knew he was taking up a better part of the bed, but it was just so comfortable. If Naruto wanted space he'd have to push him out of the way. He didn't mind, surprisingly. He started dozing off, tuning out the constant sound of the shower.  
Naruto had been scrubbing his hair, having a small laugh to himself, smelling Sasukes shampoo, being that it smelled girly. It wasn't bad, it removed all the dirt from his messy hair. His hair was always messy, but tonight it was even more messy and matted. Naruto paused a moment, hearing a tinkering noise. He peaked from the shower curtain, looking for the source. Every few seconds the noise would spontaneously go off and echo in the bathroom. Weird. A second later the lights rapidly dimmed and flickered. "No..." Naruto whispered, hoping the lights would stay on, and they did. "Spooky." He muttered, a little anxious. So he washed the suds from his hair, feeling too anxious to close his eyes , shut off the water and grabbed his towel. He felt a bit on edge, so he did this as silent as possible.  
Sasuke was pushed towards the far end of the bed, right out of his sleep, the bed dipped with weight. He mumbled a small curse at Naruto for jostling him while he was sleeping. Naruto never was really that considerate of how other people felt. In Sasukes hazy sleep, he thought for a moment about how he wish he could be as carefree as him. The bathroom door clicked open, flooding the room with a streak of light from the lights in the bathroom, "oh- hey Sasuke are you awake?" "Wha-I thought..." Sasuke rubbed his eyes, thinking Naruto had just gotten in bed next to him. "Yeah." He answered, still confused and now feeling disoriented but shook it off. "I can borrow clothes right?" "Hn." Sasuke answered, rolling back over. Naruto had rummaged around in some drawers, finding a pair of basketball shorts and an old t shirt, he put them on. He flicked off the bathroom light and climbed into bed. "Hey." "Hm?" Sasuke asked, nodding off again. It took Naruto a moment to get out the words he had been stewing over, "Do...do you guys hate hanging out with me?" But all he was answered with was the soft breathes of a sleeping raven.

4,969 words....wow


	2. に

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the day of the encounter with the entity from the forest, Sasuke and Sakura’s relationship began to take an interesting turn, leaving Naruto feeling left out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> READ! Howdy this chapter contains information from the show Neon Genesis Evangelion!!!!! Just a couple short scenes with NO really important plot information!
> 
> Please feel free to give me constructive criticism or let me know about any mistakes I’ve made. I am a Psychology major not an English major, it is not my strong suit.
> 
> Please enjoy :)

     Sasuke woke with bleary eyes to his softly lit room, the early morning light had yet to turn golden and cast a soft blue hue through the openings in his blinds. His slumber had been filled with nostalgic dreams from when he was younger, moments he had forgotten about. Moments he had buried deep inside him, locked away and never to be touched. Despite those memories bringing forth a sharp pang in his heart, they also gave him a sweetness which he desired, making him tender, longing to share personal space with another, not in a romantic or sexual way, touch in a human sense, to feel another being close, to feel needed and wanted as much as you desire others. Not that he'd ever felt the need to be physically close with another, but something deep within him craved it. He craved the warmth of another soul.  
Stretching his lean and long limbs, the raven rubbed his eyes clear from crust, successfully causing the previous feeling to subside for the moment. Rolling over onto his stomach, taking up the expanse of the bed as he usually did, his sleepiness began pulling him back. But a small vibration from his phone under his stomach was enough to get him up. Sighing and rolling on his back, he removed his phone from his hoodie pocket and blinded himself with the brightness.

Good morning ! Hope you slept well  
Let's grab lunch?  
We can go pick up naru on the way since we can't call him...xoxo

Sasuke grumbled. If only Sakura didn't know he was usually up this early, he probably could have gotten some more sleep. Sasuke's dark thin brows knitted together. Wait, Naruto slept here and he's not in bed...where is he? Probably the bathroom. He took a moment to reply to Sakura.

Ok. When r we going?

     Sasuke wasn't much of a texting person, or a call person...or a communicating in any way shape or form person. It deterred a lot of people from him, that and his cold bastardly demeanor. He had his moments where he could appreciate conversation with another. But it was rare. Most people never said anything important.  
Shoving his phone into his sweatshirt pocket again, he got up and went to go start a pot of coffee. The cold tile of the kitchen felt uncomfortable on his bare feet but he was used to it. Shuffling to the coffee pot he found Itachi having a bowl of cereal, looking at his laptop. "Did you sleep in your jeans?" Itachi wondered. The coffee grounds made its way into the filter, looking down, Sasuke observed his legs, which in fact had jeans on. "Guess so." The coffee pot began to rumble and Sasuke opened the fridge, pulling out some milk, then to the cupboard, grabbing a box of mini wheats. He sat them on the table, then grabbed a bowl and spoon.  
     Pouring the cereal, he asked "Whatcha lookin at." "WebMD." Sasuke put on a confused face, "Why? You got herpes or something?" Itachi glanced at Sasuke with an annoyed look, "No, Naruto was sick this morning." Sasuke shoveled a spoonful into his mouth, "What's wrong with him." "He was throwing up when I got up this morning. What did he eat yesterday?" Sasuke shrugged, "I'm not his keeper." Itachi rolled his eyes, "Did he eat when you guys were together?" "Yeah, pancakes." The older brother shook his head, continuing to type and scroll through the abundance of medical symptoms, "Infection maybe." "From what?" Sasuke asked. "Probably his ripped up ankle." Shit, he saw. "Hiding stuff from me, nice try." Sasuke sighed, "How'd you find out?" "He was distracted with throwing up." Sasuke nodded. "Tell him to throw up in your toilet next time, not the kitchen sink." Itachi groaned. The younger brother made a disgusted face.  
     The coffee pots drips came to a stop and Sasuke got up to get a mug ready. Pulling one form the cupboard he looked at his favorite cup for a moment. It was a plain white cup that comically said '#1 Asshole'. A present from Naruto several Christmases ago. "Where is the dope anyway?" "Couch." Short shrill beeps signaled Sasuke that his coffee was ready. He poured himself a hearty cup of the bitter black beverage before venturing out to the living room.  
     Finding Naruto curled up on the couch, head resting on the armrest, arms shrouding his stomach, legs pulled up, he looked tired to say the least. Sasuke couldn't tell if he was awake or not, looking at him he observed that he was a bit pale, his face softly contoured into a uncomfortable grimace. Sasuke sipped his coffee, scolding the tip of his tongue. "Hey you good?" The raven asks almost softly, as if to answer if the other is awake or not. Naruto gave a distressed throaty moan. "No, I assume?" A grumble. They sat in a sluggish silence, both still clearly not among the land of the living yet. Sasuke flicked the TV on, flipping channels until he settled on the news. Local kid falls down a well, break in and hero dog saves owner, nothing spectacular. Sasukes phone buzzes and he opens it to find Sakura had replied.

10:30? Urbane Cafe?

"Dobe, Sakura wants to meet for lunch."

     Narutos head rose and he perked up a a little at the mention of food, "Ichiraku?" Sasuke could see Naruto's eyes were a little red and irritated. "Urbane." His head dropped back down in disappointment. "When?" His unenthusiastic reply came, his voice which sounded like he had gargled rocks, the taste of stomach acid still on his tongue. "10:30, it's..." Sasuke glanced at his phone, "7:15 now." Sasuke swore he heard the other swear about how early it was but he didn't care enough to listen to the others complaining. "Whatever. Just put me in the bed of your truck and haul me wherever." Melodramatically, the blonde draped his forearm over his forehead. Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Just because Itachi baby's you doesn't mean I will." "I thought I was your best friend." Naruto instinctively whined, but suddenly an anxiety rose in his chest. We're best friends right? Instead Sasuke left the couch, throwing a, "I'm taking a shower," over his shoulder. ...Right?

 

     Sakura's morning was off to a rough start. She'd woken up before her alarm due to a dream so realistic she thought it had all been true. It was no nightmare, but it left her feeling depressed. In that dream...she had everything she ever wanted, she was everything she ever wanted to be.  
     Her dream was so sugar sweet it made real life feel dull and colorless. She had lived years in that dream, her subconscious had written her a history she had been daydreaming of for the majority of her life. In that dream, Sasuke was there, he had finally grew some sense of affection towards her and confessed he had feelings for her, they had begun dating, both of their parents so proud. Naruto was there, being happy for them, supportive and teasing, just how she knew he'd be, as the little brother he was to her. They all had a wonderful Christmas together, a romantic Valentine's Day, and a regal proposal Sakura knew she had wished for since she was a little girl. Even a pristine chapel wedding fit for a princess. A honeymoon to Paris, where champagne and wine filled their nights of love making. Two children, Sadaharu and Miko, looking like their dad with dark hair and eyes and milky soft skin. A dog, Ichigo, and a cute two story home where uncle Naruto would come to babysit while the two had their date night. It was all so mesmerizing.  
     Had Sakura known it was a dream she would have done anything to keep from waking up. Her soft aqua eyes glossed over with thin tears, thinking about her love for Sasuke and how her dreamworld was just a dreamworld.  
     Her text to Sasuke was cheery and welcoming but she fought a wave of sadness at his stoic nature. She had thought for so long she could simply win him over with her consecutive time spent with him. It was becoming apparent that wasn't enough. Maybe he's just oblivious to my obvious love for him? Maybe I should just make a clear confession...At this rate he'll never make the first move. Thoughts banged around her head, giving her a headache. She lay in her bed, silky cherry printed pajamas and all. She wondered how she would ever have the courage to confess to Sasuke. She'd probably have to get him alone.    
     She hugged her trusty stuffed white bunny the boys had given her as a combined birthday present when she had turned 12. Though, as Sakura texted Sasuke back, suggesting 10:30 for lunch, she had a deep sense of guilt in her, knowing when they were younger, Naruto would always try his hardest to impress her and make her laugh. His good intentions were the product of many embarrassing memories. Sakura was sure he would give her the world on a silver platter if he could. Why couldn't Sasuke be like that? Sakura shook her head, she shouldn't be thinking like that.  
Finally getting up to get ready for the day, Sakura's thoughts wandered to the previous night. For lack of a better word, she had been scared shitless. The adrenaline that had coursed through her really ended up making her tired. She may have been in a bit of denial of what had happened...there had to be a reasonable explanation for that thing, wasn't there?  
Glancing into the mirror she took note that she had small bags under her eyes, not anything over the top noticeable, nothing a little concealer couldn't fix. Sakura had once been obsessed with her appearance, her image, her body, her words. She had been very anxious, but she had grown out of it. Now she had a lighter heart because she knew that if she was going to be loved she had to love herself the way she was. She knew she was quite pretty, intelligent and witty, although sometimes a bit hotheaded and mean, everyone had their flaws and she was learning to deal with hers.  
Sakura had brushed her teeth and began brushing her hair, thinking again about last night and how she had been terrified. She'd jumped up into Sasuke's arms like a little girl, while she had a brief knight in shinning armor moment, it had been quickly taken from her when Naruto had got snatched up, Sasuke wasted no time running after him, ordering her to get the car. He was so brave. Sakura feels ashamed for a moment, if Sasuke hadn't been there, what would have happened to Naruto? Thinking about it, if she hadn't found safety in Sasuke's arms, then that thing would have got her. She prayed she'd never see that thing again.  
Sakura lightly dabbed concealer under her eyes and thought about Sasuke's truck, how guilty she felt for its physical appearance, she didn't know what would have happened if she hadn't drove it through the forest like that. Would he be mad at her? Maybe. But, she'd offer to help pay to fit it, considering it was her fault. Remembering the moment she had found the two boys struggling with the entity, she was the only one to come out uninjured. Well, at least she could play nurse with the boys, it was her future career path that she'd decided on, though she doesn't know how fast food napkins would hold up in a medical ward...  
    Venturing out to her room she stood in front of her closet, hand on her hip, first dilemma being the weather, which seemed to be dropping temperature everyday. She assumed it would be about 65 today, so she grabbed a pair of white capris and a fuzzy red sweater to lay on her bed. She undressed to her underwear and pulled out a comfortable bra from her dresser and hooked it in place, normally she would opt for a push-up bra because she was a little insecure, but today she didn't care. She put on her pants, followed by her sweater and sat on her bed, picking up her phone to see the raven had just text her back.

See you then.

Again. Short reply. The pink headed girl sighed and sat on her bed a moment, thinking about how she should tell Sasuke about her feelings. She at least wanted to do it in private to conserve her embarrassment. If Sasuke and her did start dating, she wondered how that would affect the threes relationship, seeing as Sakura is or was Naruto's crush and Sasuke's best friend. He would be understanding, for the airhead he is, he is forgiving and always with a positive attitude.  
Something in her closet dropped, catching her attention, the sound was what drew her, she hadn't saw it. Sakura released a soft sigh, getting up to retrieve the falling article of clothing. It was the matching Christmas sweaters they had worn the past several Christmases. She held it, thinking of fond memories. She didn't think much of it falling, it wasn't unusual for clothes to drop from her hangers after pulling something from her closet. Hanging it back up her eyes followed down the set of hangers and noticed at the far end of her closet, the hangers were swaying. It unnerved her for a second but assumed it was from her moving clothes on her end. She'd later venture out to watch television in the living room, forgetting the world until the boys would be there to pick her up.

 

     By 10, both Naruto and Sasuke had a small spat and had already gotten over it. Not that it wasn't unlike them to get into an argument but by the end of it they both hadn't remembered why they started arguing. Both silently agreed it was stupid by Sasuke lending Naruto a sweatshirt and Naruto grabbing Sasuke a thermos of coffee. Naruto had put on his tattered jeans from the previous night, he would have stolen a pair from Sasuke but his skinny ass emo jeans didn't fit the blonde despite him being smaller in the height department but he was in fact a little bulky. Not everyone could look like Slenderman.  
Upon hopping into the truck, Sasukes mood was a little sour seeing his truck in the condition it was, but it still ran so he couldn't complain as much as he wanted to. The ride was spent listening to rap and screamo, an interesting combo that they both agreed to.  
Sasuke pulled up next to Sakura's house at 10:24 and sent her a message saying they had arrived. Naruto brushes off the seat she'd be sitting in, ridding it of the debris still present from last night. Sasuke rested his elbow on the open window lip, resting his head in his palm, "If you spoil her anymore, she'll expect us to call her princess." Naruto turned to him with a fake offended look, "I can't help being a gentleman, one of us has to be." With that, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Hey boys!" Sakura smiled at them, hopping to the car and into her seat next to Naruto. Sasuke began their drive to the café.  
"Glad to see you've showered." Sakura commented, ruffling his hair up. "I'm surprised I made it in the house before Sasuke turned the hose on me." Naruto sulked and they all gave a small laugh.  
    Sasuke had got them to Urbane Café and found decent parking. They wandered in and found seats while Naruto had been chosen as tribute to place everyone's order, this time, Sakuras card in hand. Returning to the table Naruto overheard Sakura, "-and it'll be just us?" Sasuke caught Naruto's eyes as he sat back down and answered Sakura with an inconspicuous answer, "Hn." Which both Naruto and Sakura had come to know that can mean 'maybe, maybe not.' Naruto found himself at a loss for words, usually he would budge in but if it was something between the two of them maybe he's just let them have that. If they didn't want him there then he wasn't going to force anything. Sakura seemed thankful, hoping Naruto hadn't heard anything, but Sasuke on the other hand kept a steady glance at Naruto, almost questioningly, wondering if he had heard and why he wasn't saying anything. Sakura felt a pit of guilt for a moment, seeing Naruto rest his chin in his palm and look anywhere but at them, in order to burry her feelings she unlocked her phone and dove into a back and forth text message conversation with Ino. Sasuke rolled his eyes and relaxed into the back the booth. 

    By the time lunch had ended they had regain a sense of normality, piling into the truck. Laughing about some joke Naruto had made, making their way to Sasuke's place.  
    It had become their usual spot, his parents almost never being there and Itachi who worked often mostly left the house to them. Despite Naruto’s shared apartment with Jiraiya usually being empty, everyone found out fairly quickly that Naurto would always rather be anywhere than there and no one questioned it seeing as his relationship with Jiraiya left something to be desired.  
The Uchiha residence had been home to many memories, holidays and heartbreak alike. It was here were Naruto usually spent holidays and Sakura would join for the small dinners they always had with family friends. Ever since Naruto's parents had passed away when they were still in elementary school, that had been when Jiraiya took custody of him, saying it was his duty as Naruto's godfather. In all honesty if Jiraiya hadn't become his guardian, Sasuke's parents would have adopted him, while they both shared a mutual love for Minato and Kushina, it was obvious Jiraiya was not a fit guardian, leaving Naruto and whoever Jiraiya was fostering by themselves for weeks to months on end as young as 12. Sasuke's parents had grown soft on the blonde and practically accepted him as their own son, and with that, they expected good grades, table manners, for him to do his own laundry and hugs and kisses on birthdays. Fugaku was always a distant man, but he at least made sure to tell him happy birthday and an occasional congratulations on a report card. Mikoto was more than happy to give Naruto much motherly love that her best friend, Kushina, could no longer provide. Though, these parental interactions were rare with their schedule. But, to them, the Uchiha and Uzumaki were one in the same.

    The trio spent the rest of the afternoon watching tv on Sasuke's flatscreen, normally the living room was a favorite spot but today they occupied his room with Peter Pan and 50 First Dates. Miraculously they had all cuddled up on Sasuke's bed, tangled together, Naruto spooning Sakura and Sakura with her head on Sasuke's chest, somewhere both Naruto and Sakura's arms rested across his abdomen, Sasuke's own arms resting behind his head. They were comfortable to say the least. They started binge watching Neon Genesis Evangelian and quickly intriguing them, some themes hit different soft spots for them but it's what kept them watching. A couple episodes in Sakura seemed to be more interested in an afternoon nap and had begun softly slumbering to the rhythmic breathing and heartbeat belonging to Sasuke and the warmth Naruto provided.  
    The dark room was lit with the colors of the screen, emotions of the characters running high. Toji had just blamed Shinji for something out of his control. Naruto watched with what seemed like cringe, most likely remembering some of the times he's been blamed for things he couldn't control. Unconsciously his hands coiled into a soft fist, small amounts of inner turmoil raking within him. Seemingly Sasuke was going through his own inner combat, he'd remembered many times he had been jealous of Naruto because he had somehow so easily gained affection from his parents, he had told himself it didn't bother him, at least now it didn't and he understood, but when he was younger that was unfortunately not the case. He could count on his hands the number of times his jealousy had been taken out on Naruto, wishing his father had said the things he did to Naruto to himself.  
    Stealing a glance at the blonde who was closer to him than his own brother, he saw his friends face buried into Sakura's shoulder. He must have decided a nap was in order after seeing Sakura asleep. He felt a sense of sympathy build in the back of his throat, tightening it. He had plenty of thoughts he wished he could express with words, plenty of things he wishes he could say, but could never find the words for. Sasuke considered himself to be communicatively stunted, usually people took his lack of words for being apart of his cold personality but he couldn't bring himself to say more than half of what he thought.  
    Despite his ego being as large as the moon, he too often experienced stress and anxiety over what people thought about him, especially his parents. He was glad his friends put up with him, unlike so many others. But, he still felt like they didn't truly know him, he had hid so much of himself with his regular demeanor that he was scared to show his most authentic self. Maybe they felt the same way. But all he could do for now was cherish the tender moments he very much enjoyed but would never admit, the regular cuddling being one he favored. It happened to make him feel secure and wanted all in one, what more could he want? Oh yeah, a boyfriend, he wanted one of those. Except that was a secret dirty thought that he was trying to convince himself wasn't real, how could he want something like that? It didn't matter if he didn't think about that, he could focus on the now and forget about his weird back burner thoughts for now. Almost absent mindedly Sasuke's pale hand reached out and gently spread itself out over the blondes cranium. In soft motions, he felt the others short hair between his fingers.  
    Unknown to the raven, Naruto was all but asleep. He dare not move when the fingers passed over his scalp. His sudden recollection of upsetting times had come and gone, leaving him with somber feelings. He had recently been feeling as though his friends are only his friends out of convenience but the hand in his hair led him to think maybe he was truly wanted. In the back of his head he had always felt maybe everyone around him was only there due to consequence of uncontrollable circumstance. Naruto felt a small rise of love in himself for his friends, he was thankful for moments like these, if they ended up leaving him one day, he would be grateful for now.  
    Breaking the two boys from their thoughts was a distorted echoing, the TV let out ragged static, screen pixelating. In the show, Shinji was in his monster of an Eva and had been repeating to himself in a soft voice, "...don't run away, don't run away, don't run away..." Sasuke's hand had hesitantly left the blonde, in case he woke up he wouldn't have to explain himself caressing his friend, because he wouldn't have an explanation and that would make things extremely awkward. Sasuke found the remote that had been in Sakura's hand, he slipped it from her swiftly in order not to wake her. He jabbed the lower volume button to quiet the disturbing static. But still, the scene seemed to repeat, the panic in Shinji rose and the volume increased with each murmur. Sasuke let out a curse when he found the remote wouldn't quiet the television or even turn it off. The batteries must have died, of all times? He slapped the remote as if domestic abuse would get it to work. In his effort the screen rampaged with bright distortions and sounds that could only be replicated by horror movies. Both Naruto and Sakura had stirred, to look between the screen and Sasuke struggling with the remote. "Dude it's so fucking loud!" Naruto said in distaste, he had removed himself from the dog pile to turn the television off manually. Sakura was huddled where she had woken up and had her hands pressed to her ears, a irritated look on her face. "What the fuck?" Narutos voice came muffled over the anime as the off switch on the tv seemed to be doing nothing, the show flicked to a scene where an Eva was going berserk, screaming with exhilaration, as the growl sounded through the room, the light above them connected to the spinning fan flicked on the same way everyone's eyes flinch in fear. The tinkering of a manic bulb surging with power was a distant noise compared to the roar of the show. And as soon as it felt unbearable the television and light switched off the same way a power outage drains electricity.  
    The three were met with their own silence and confusion, "What the hell was that?" Sakura questioned her rude awakening. "No idea." Sasuke replied, removing the batteries from the remote. "That was terrifying," Naruto stated plainly, leaving the room, his tan hand running over the same spot the Uchiha had played with his hair. The two watched him leave, finding his behavior a little odd.  
    "So uh Sasuke, about earlier, I was confused about your answer, will you really go to a movie with me?" Sakura had sat up and was blushing, looking up at Sasuke from under her lashes in anticipation. Sasuke looked over her a minute before rubbing his neck awkwardly, a small blush crossed his cheeks, "Why just us?" Sakura felt her mouth dry, lacking an answer, she wasn't ready to confess her undying love for him, she had wanted to do it alone. "Oh um I had just thought...I was thinking that maybe...well the thing is..." The more she talked the more her face turned red, struggling to find a plausible answer.  
    She was in love with him. Naruto knew that, he always had, but he never thought they'd actually start making plans without him. Who was he kidding, it would have happened eventually. His fingers grasped and pulled at the patch of hair Sasukes fingers had occupied. Naruto's current position leaning against the outside wall of Sasuke's room provided him with a lot of information he wished didn't exist. It didn't matter what he thought. He wasn't in love with her or anything, not anymore at least. Was this even his business?  
    "Why can't Naruto come?" Naruto heard Sasuke ask, his voice came out slow and held a certain degree of confusion. God, how stupid could he be? "It's not that I don't want him to-it's just I wanted to talk to you alone." The blonde felt nauseous, it was happening, they were going to fall in love and they were going to forget about him, just like Jiraiya. If he didn't have them, then, what did he have? He clasped a hand over his mouth to keep his lower lip from quivering. He was going to be alone, completely and utterly alone. "Sasuke it's not a big deal, he won't even care." Lie. "He doesn't know.” Lie. "He doesn't have to." Betrayal.  
    The lifetime of repressed anxiety over losing his friends suddenly hit him like a meteor. He felt sick, his stomach turned with his lunch and he made a split second decision and left his current post against the wall, taking long strides in Sasuke's room straight to his bathroom. Upon entering, he promptly vomited into the toilet, down on a knee, clutching the edge of the counter for support. He heard his name being called but another wave of Urbane Cafe left his stomach. The watery tears that usually came with throwing up blurred Naruto's vision, keeping him from directly making eye contact with his last meal.  
    "Are you okay?" He felt a hand on his back and the soft mothering voice of Sakura. He hung his head, he couldn't think of an answer, knowing she meant because he'd just heaved up lunch, but by god, he was not okay because every moment forward he could only feel the oncoming loneliness he had feared for so long. Instead of answering, he spat what he could out of his mouth. Finding a more comfortable position sitting in front of the toilet, he ran a hand through his hair, noticing he had a bit of a cold sweat on his forehead.  
"Here," came Sasuke's voice, as cool as the glass of water in his hand. The water was passed to him and he grumbled a thanks, sipping it. "At least you did it in the toilet this time." Sasuke joked lightly, unnerved by the oddly heavy atmosphere. "What do you mean this time?" Sakura asked accusingly. "He threw up in the kitchen sink this morning." Sasuke said a bit to casually for Sakura. "First of all, ew. Second, why didn't you two lugnuts tell me?" A glare was sent to both of them. Both of them shrugged. "Itachi already babied me enough, you don't need to either." Came the abnormally snappy answer from Naruto, earning two sets of eyes on him, guilt sunk onto his shoulders, he didn't want to say that, he didn't want to push them away, but he felt a weird sense of control knowing he could and that they wouldn't be the ones removing him. That thought could be dangerous, it was stupid, why did he think that? "Sorry." He apologized quickly, the strain on Naruto's heart squeezing his anxiety like a lemon. "It's fine, are you okay?" Sakura replied, unnerved in the slightest. "Peachy." Naruto's voice was hoarse, the tears in his eyes held to his waterline. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Please let me know if you enjoyed this chapter :)


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally updatedddd. In this chapter we meet Jiraiya :) 
> 
> I feel like this story is progressing too fast !! I want it to be slow but maybe this is how it is meant to be hehe.
> 
> WARNING: homophobic slur.. the f word oo, teenagers are so mean!

    Sunday had come and gone in a flash, leaving everyone with a slow and sleepy Monday. Students shuffled through the halls like there were walking to their execution. Sakura clicked open her locker, finding the books she needed for her first couple classes. Sasuke leaned against the locker next to her, a granola bar in hand. "Did you understand the Calc homework?" Sasuke shrugged in response, "I didn't know we were supposed to." Sakura sigh, closing her locker only to rest her head on the cool metal. "Oh!" She perked up, "So, I was thinking, for the movie, we could go see that horror movie that just came out, Annabelle? Or maybe The Avengers? I'm dying to see either." She smiles at Sasuke and they begin their walk to their first class of the day, Calculus.

    They weren't worried about meeting up with Naruto because he was always late and they didn't see him until lunch anyway. "Avengers just came out and I'm not willing to go sit in a crowded theater." Sasuke always had a thing about crowds, it's why he got places early and left the first chance he got if there were too many people around. "Point taken, Annabelle it is then."  
Sasuke worked on his packet, comprised of nearly 5 pages worth of review material for an upcoming test. His grades were good, all A's. He wasn't worried about the test but then again he had to study in order to keep what he already learned, and it was early in the semester so there was a possibility they could drop if he lost his focus. He was feeling a little stressed out and tired from the last couple days. Focusing outside the window, peering down from the second story he could see a familiar figure moping across the grass to the back entrance of the school. Naruto was awfully late today, he'd probably overslept as usual. Dope. Sasuke felt a sense of guilt creep up on him, pressing on his chest. Going alone to the movies shouldn't be bothering him this much but why did he feeling like he was cheating on Naruto? Not that he had feelings for the idiot, but he loved him, like a friend, obviously, despite how annoying he was. But, going behind his back felt the same as infidelity. When they were younger, he knew Naruto had a crush on Sakura and Sakura claimed to have a crush on him, Naruto had grown out of it, surely she had too? Oh god, what if this was why she was asking him out? His heart beat picked up. Was this a date to her? The though of anyone liking him felt foreign and embarrassing oconsidering it ws Sakura. He's never liked anyone like that before so he really didn't know what she felt towards him. He didn't see her like that, she was his friend, like Naruto. What was he going to do? The raven picked at his blunt nails, they were virtually flawless and clean but at this point is was just a nervous habit. He liked his life the way it was at the moment, he prayed to any god listening that everything would turn out okay. If only he knew the gods had turned a deaf ear to his plea.

    Naruto had slammed his front door just a little too hard on a Monday morning for Jiraiya's liking. He had returned Friday night and had found out fairy quickly that Naruto wasn't picking up his phone. He had waited around and had a couple drinks, silently reminding himself to scold Naruto for the half drank rum bottle he knew he hadn't opened, eventually he'd fallen asleep. When he'd woken up that Saturday he made a call to a little weasel that informs him of everything the pesky children didn't want him to know, and upon the apartments main occupant returning in the late afternoon, an earful and punishment was received. Needless to say, Naruto wasn't too happy with being grounded until Jiraiya was due to leave again. Technically speaking, Jiraiya had grounded him for a month, but they both knew Jiraiya would be off on another plane to god knows where within at least a week.

    Everyone knew that as soon the godfather stepped out of the threshold, Naruto would be free from punishment because nothing tethered him into fulfilling that punishment with no guard to enforce it. Still it rubbed Naruto the wrong way, Jiraiya always knew where he was if he wasn't in the apartment so Naruto found it completely unfair he'd been grounded. And to top it all off, Jiraiya was even more mad about the rum he'd just happened to get into while he was gone. Could he blame him? Having to be all alone in an apartment with nothing to do? This man was outrageously irritating. Showing up for a week at random every month or so? And then acting like king of the fucking hill?

    Naruto loved Jiraiya, but damn the old geezer could really test him sometimes. Naruto had spent that Sunday doing chores like a personal servant, cleaning everything Jiraiya could think up, cooking breakfast and dinner, grocery shopping, hell he even had to do the guys laundry! Naruto practically felt like a housewife with all of the shit he'd been given to do, the only think he wasn't doing was sleeping with the guy!  
    Naruto was in such a bitter mood that come Monday morning, he'd hit snooze on his alarm just about 15 times, wishing that every time he'd hit it that he could fall asleep and wake up next Saturday. He skipped out on breakfast, Jiraiya yelling at him for being so late. That man was just about as parental as a drill Sargent sometimes. To top it off, on his way to schools his jeans rubbed uncomfortably against his wounded ankle, he would have put some gauze on it but when he had gone through the first aid kit he had suddenly remembered he tried using it to make a slingshot to pelt Sasuke with eggs. Spoiler alert, it didn't work, all he got out of it was slimy toes. Jiraiya had to have known about Naruto getting hurt, since he knew he'd called Itachi, but he didn't even ask about it. The blonde really contemplated if the guy cared about him or not sometimes.  
    "You're late." Kurenai, his first period teacher, commented. He didn't say anything accept for a thanks after taking the papers she handed him, taking his usual seat. They had a midterm coming up? Fuck. He flipped through the study packet, staring at the government related issues. Naruto was entirely lost when it came to learning about government, everything seemed so confusing and unfair. He could probably ask Itachi for help since he worked in a law office. He'd always been able to help with this kind of stuff. Naruto looked up to Itachi, seeing as he had practically raised Sasuke because his parents were gone all the time and he always did what was right even if it wasn't fun, surprisingly enough that was an admirable trait to Naruto. He really looked up to Itachi, Itachi had always looked out for him as if they were blood and he was one of the people Naruto knew he could always confide in. He'd thought about following a similar path to Itachi and going into law, but once he figured out how much work and school went into it he quickly moved on from the thought.

    As of now Naruto was thinking about what he wanted to do with his life, the true internal panic of many high school seniors was resonating strongly with him. Lately he'd been having a nagging feeling in the back of his head, one whispering about a worthless good for nothing failure. He was by no means failing his classes, but he wasn't exactly a straight A student, if his grades dropped below a B he was sure to get a call from Sasuke's parents and a guaranteed earful. He couldn't find a job that would hire him, it seemed his reputation as a loudmouth troublemaking kid had stuck with him enough to detour any and all employers in the small town. Whatever the case was he didn't know if he could afford college, he knew with how Jiraiya travels, his godfather could afforded to put him through school, but would he?  
    A shrill bell signaled the end of first period, dragging Naruto from his thoughts. He shoved his packet into his bag and slung the fat bag over his shoulder. He'd taken some of his books home over the weekend but he really hadn't done any work, with not making it to his locker before school, as usual, he was stuck carrying them around until after his second class. He groaned as his bag irritated the scabs on his back, pulling on them. Maybe he should ask Sakura to look at them since she was so good with that stuff, but remembering the napkins plastered to his ankle, maybe not.

    Sakura met Naruto in the hall on the way to lunch, bumping into him lightly as a hello. "Why are you looking so grumpy?" He looked at her with a weak smile, "The usual." She nodded in acknowledgment, looping her arm with his, "You can always come over after school if you don't want to be around him y'know?" Shrugging he put on an obviously fake smile, "Grounded." Sakura looks at him with sympathy, "Already?" "Yeah, he got back Friday apparently, no warning." He pushed the lunchroom door open a little harder than necessary. Sasuke appeared, pushing off from the wall next to the entrance, "What stick is up your ass?" They filed into line for whatever the lunch ladies had thrown together today. "Jiraiya." Sakura answered for Naruto, seeing as he was preoccupied sifting through bags of chips deciding between Hot Cheetos and Doritos. Sasuke understands, nodding.  
    Sitting at their usual table towards the back of the room they begin chomping away at their lunch, Sasuke had gotten a salad mostly for the cherry tomatoes, Sakura and Naruto having a chicken sandwich which was dry as all hell. "How long are you grounded for?" Sakura wonders, covering her sandwich in ranch in hopes to not choke on it. "A month according to him." Removing the bun from his sandwich and picked off the breading on the chicken slab, Naruto deemed it edible after fixing it to his liking. "So until he leaves." Sasuke states, stabbing a tomato. "Right." The naked chicken slab is flopped onto his tray, his grumpy state caused him to not be able to stomach something so bland. "Why a month?" The pink headed girl asks, washing down her lunch with a juice box, "That's pretty long compared to what he usually gives." Naruto shrugs, "Probably cause I lost my phone." It wasn't the reason. Jiraiya said losing his phone was punishment enough because he wasn't going to get him a new one. It was mostly because of the rum, but he didn't want to tell them that because he wasn't sure how they would react knowing he hadn't told them at the time.  
    Their lunch moved on from Naruto's predicament in an effort to cheer him up. Despite their conversation, it felt withheld and careful. They chitter chattered about small things, nothing too interesting or personal. Between eating and talking, they snuck glances at each other in an odd sense of knowing something felt amiss but not being able to rationalize or articulate what exactly it was they were feeling. Lunch ended shortly after Sasuke had forfeited his juice box to Naruto.

    Sakura had been thinking about Naruto since lunch, she couldn't get him off his mind for some reason. She always seemed to worry about him when Jiraiya was in town. Knowing they would only see him around at school or if he snuck out when Jiraiya was sleeping, she couldn't help but feel like he was withholding information from them. Or her at least, he saw Sasuke way more than her so it was a probability Sasuke could know if something had been bothering him. He didn't have his phone and none of them had talked since Sasuke had drove them home after Naruto had been sick, so what could Sasuke know that she didn't? If that wasn't the case, did Naruto think she was incapable to confide in? Him and Sasuke were basically conjoined at the hip, it sometimes felt like she was third wheeling. No matter how much they included her, she wanted the relationship they had. Well, not exactly. Sakura had feelings for Sasuke and she was sure if she were Naruto, Sasuke wouldn't be interested. Not just because Naruto is a guy, but also completely not Sasuke's type. Right? Surely Naruto's personality wouldn't be fitting to Sasuke's? If there was a girl just like Naruto would Sasuke like her? Opposites attract right? If that were the case, she didn't see having a chance with the Uchiha. Sakura shook her head, she was being silly. She just had to be clear with how she felt, that would be enough. Sasuke doesn't like extravagance or childishness. He's a relaxed guy with a hurt heart. She can fix it. She will be the one to help him for once.

    Naruto sat in the last period of the day, where Sai had started bugging him. They didn't necessarily get along and mostly Naruto tolerated Sai who liked to make crude comments, occasionally one that wasn't about him was funny and he thinks that why he tolerates him. "They're defiantly boning! I saw them in the teacher lounge when I was going to ask about my test!" Kiba whisper yelled in excitation. Since the last couple years, Kiba, Sai and Shikamaru had become quite the friends. Naruto had never been sure what it tied them together but last summer at a party it had all started to make sense when he'd found each one of them doing some sort of drug, he only recognized Shikamaru smoking weed which wasn't bad by Naruto's standards, but he'd probably draw the line at whatever Kiba was snorting off the kitchen counter and whatever pill Sai was splitting. It didn't really bother him, only made him feel out of place seeing as he'd known Kiba and Shikamaru since they were young. Naruto initially remembered Kiba's eyes being dark brown but that night his pupils had practically ate most of the color, Sai had been resting against the counter, head back, towards the ceiling. He was physically present, but he was somewhere else. "Everyone knows they're fucking, chill out." Shikamaru responds to Kiba, annoyed in the slightest. Naruto always kinda wondered what it was like to do what they do, he had smoked weed a couple times with Shikamaru but in his opinion it wasn't anything he pined after, unlike Shikamaru who seemed like he needed it to function, or at least tolerate life around him. He didn't understand the point of not being all there most of the time, that didn't sit right with Naruto, it made him sad. The class had ended and Naruto filled out just like everyone else, not missing when Kiba did the sex hand motion towards Mr. Hatake, who in turn flipped him off. Man, teachers could be weird.

    Sakura met up with Sasuke, as his class was near hers, and walked out of the building to his car. Sasuke sometimes drove them home, he was sure Naruto would ask for a ride today since he had been pretty sick over the weekend. Sasuke saw him talking to that bunch who was always strung out, Sasuke had met them at parties a few time and they weren't half bad, but Naruto was able to keep up with their idiocy. "Nice truck, fag." Sasukes thoughts were slapped out of his head by a hand and a lovely comment from some super senior named Jugo. "Nice diploma, pumpkin head." Sarcastically, Sasuke got a growl from the guy but before it could develop any further Sakura was pulling on his arm, around to the other side of the truck. "What an asshole." She grumbled. They watched him go with a disgusted look on their faces, he wandered over to the four who were chatting in the parking lot, the orange headed asshole had greeted Sai and apparently made a comment to Naruto, probably a secondhand one about Sasuke, who looked ready to fight but was stopped but Kiba who brushed it off for him by slinging his arm over Naruto's shoulders to calm him down. Jugo laughed and handed Sai some money, who in turn passed Jugo something in a folded up sandwich bag. They weren't going to admit it, but they were spying. After Jugo left, their circle closed again in conversation.  
    "Oh, Naruto, I'm gonna have a kickback at my house Saturday, it's b-y-o-e." Kiba mentions casually. "You in?" Naruto shrugs, thinking about the leftover rum, "I don't have anything to bring." He knows he's grounded, he knows he doesn't do what they do for fun.  
The back of his head is simultaneously saying, don't go it's not your thing versus have fun; Sasuke and Sakura made plans without you, why shouldn't you? The sealing statement is, "That's fine, just throw some cash in the pit and we'll take care of you." Naruto is nodding and saying bye, heading over to the two onlookers who quickly immerse themself in a try hard casual conversation.  
"-it just gets colder everyday. Oh hi Naruto! How was your day?" Sakura is talking and Naruto notices but he doesn't say anything other than a bitter, "Superb knowing what I get to go back to." Before hopping into the truck. It's awkward in the truck, between his two best friends who are making conversation for the sake of not leaving the space silent. It all feels a little fake, like he's already being excluded from their secretive relationship. He should get used to it, seeing as how they'd start dating openly soon enough. How wrong he wishes he was. That pins and needles feeling is back in his fingertips and toes, running up his back, piercing his sternum. It's practically knocking the air out of him knowing what's going on. But he was pulled to attention  
"Naruto, can we come over Saturday? Jiraiya might kill you if he finds out you snuck out so might as well just make it easy." Saturday? He made plans Saturday, should he tell them he can't? Or that he made plans to spite them for leaving him out? Was it revenge or a true effort to begin moving on? Why did he have to move on at all? "Saturday?" Naruto rubs the back of his neck, a nervous chuckle coming up his throat. If he isn't honest then he's just stooping to their level, why shouldn't he? Why is he being so vengeful? "When Saturday?" Sasuke spares Sakura a glance, shrugging, when was their movie outing going to start and end? "Oh I don't know, say 2? How does that sound Sasuke?" When had Sakura started asking Sasuke questions like they were together? "That's fine." "Okay then I guess the next time we get to hangout is then." Sasuke parallel parks against a curb to Narutos apartment. Sakura hops out to let Naruto out, it was a weird set up, they all knew Naruto was the first to be dropped off but he was always sat in the middle. "See you guys later." The blonde gives them a weak wave, slinging his bag on, off and up the stairs.  
"Was that weird to you?" Sasuke is watching his friend run up the stairs. "He seemed more pressed than when Jiraiya is usually around, what do you think it is?" She is nervously brushing her hair back out of her face, a habit she seemed to be picking up. They begin the drive to Sakura's house, which was a little out of the way, but Sasuke never said anything about it.  
"Hey...Sasuke?" What was it she wanted to say? That she felt like a third wheel sometimes, or that she is scared they don't trust her or feel comfortable around her. "I know you and Naruto are...closer than we are, did he say anything about what was bothering him?" Sasuke thought for a minute, was he really closer to Naruto than Sakura was? He always thought it would be easier if he could express his feelings like Sakura, so how did he end up getting so close to Naruto, someone who works solely off communication? "I don't think I've noticed anything that you haven't. If anything he's probably still under the weather." Sasukes truck is pulled halfway to Sakuras driveway. "You're right, I'm just over reacting. If anything we can just ask him Saturday, I guess since he's grounded we don't have to fret so much about going to the movies. We can check up on him and when everything looks okay we go see Annabelle." She smiles, reassuringly, but it's not for Sasuke. Sasuke still feels the same guilt as before, Sakura's remarks did nothing but make him feel worse knowing something was up with Naruto. He pushed it to the side, as long as he did that, like with every issue plaguing his conscious, *cough* being gay *cough*, he could focus on the now.  
    Sakura spent the rest of her day thinking about the future, if she did end up dating Sasuke, how would Naruto take it? Paranoia was building in the back of her head.

 

    Naruto sat at the kitchen table, with his homework spread out. He was spacing out, leaning back in his chair, thinking about his life. A soon to graduate high school senior with no direction. Everyone was applying to college soon. Some had already been accepted. Naruto ran the fingers poking out of his hoodie on the glass table. The blonde loved living life but hated thinking about it. He pressed his fingers to the cold glass and watch them turn white with lack of blood. When it came down to it, what was he talented at? He could make people laugh? A comedian? Get real. Naruto finds boredom in his circulatory system and shuffles through his notes which hold about as much doodles as it does notes. Some people trained to be artists but he recalled his crude skull sketch, with fire coming out of it's head. He remembers hearing somewhere that artists paint what they feel inside. Is that what he was feeling, like he's on fire? Blue eyes held a steady gaze at his drawing, curtained by blonde lashes that start collecting the sudden onset of watery eyes. Surely if he drowned the burning would go away, just like his friends were going away.

    "Why am I so bitter?" Naruto let himself whisper, allowing himself to hear his froggy broken voice. He sounds like he's going through puberty again and it makes him feel just as small as he was when he was 13. Looking into the future felt like looking through a bird cage into the freedom outside except he would rather stay inside. Everyday towards graduation felt like another step towards the end of the plank and straight into an ocean, alone. Heavy and slow footsteps sound on the wood down the hall from where Naruto sits. He meets Jiraiya eyes as he rounds the corner. Jiraiya has just woken up, groggy and grumpy. As normal. Naruto decided he should relocate to his room so he shoved his things in his bag. He could smell the liquor and cigars he smoked from here, it clung to his pajamas, which Naruto had washed. 

    Jiraiyas feet came into his view in front of his backpack causing Narutos head to shoot up, eyes tracking up the others form slowly. A strong calloused hand reached out and grasped Narutos jaw and hoisted his godsons head back to meet him face to face. Naruto's godfather didn't know much about personal space, this seemed to be his go to position when his godson wouldn't meet his eyes, it was almost a regular occurrence. "Why are you crying?" Naruto stared at Jiraiya with an irritated expression but to his godfather Naruto just looked like he was pouting. Naruto smelt the lingering alcohol sweating out of his system associated with his godfather, always something potent, he could recall taking a shot made his eyes water they same way his were now. "I'm not" he protests obviously. "You're a bad liar." Jiraiya releases his blonde troublemaker from his grip and continues his path to his original goal, the pantry.

    "If you're going to cry, don't you think you should talk about it? Get it off your chest?" Naruto finally rises from his seat, "I'm just stressed from school." Jiraiya huffs, amused but in a sour way, "You're going to be in for a real surprise when you graduate, the real world is a lot harder that High School." No shit. It was basically all he could think about. "Is this not real life for me then?" and just like that his switch was flipped, "Do you think I'm not real yet or something because I haven't graduated highs school? That doesn't even make sense you old bastard!" Jiraiya practically headed him no mind whatsoever, used to the blondes outbursts.

    This is what irked Naruto about Jiraiya, he was so narrow minded and disrespectful sometimes. It wasn't any of Jiraiya's business to say Naruto's life wasn't hard, hell if anything Jiraiya should know how bad Naruto has it, the guy is only taking care of him cause his parents are dead. He doesn't remember them well so talking about them was awkward, it was a sore subject to say the least. Naruto wasn't asking for pity but damn he wished his caretaker would just give him a break sometimes.

    "Don't call me old bastard you little shitbag. You're enough trouble as it is. I've sacrificed so much for your ungrateful ass!" Jiraiya chuckled, as if this conversation was amusing to him, except it was a halfassed argument to Naruto. Naruto's day just wasn't getting any better was it?

    "Yeah right. The only thing you're sacrificing is a couple months out of the year to come see me like you have to water a plant or it'll fucking die and you'll be in trouble for it." Naruto chucked his backpack over his shoulder. He was brimming with frustration, he had time and motivation to talk back today. "Are you saying you miss me? How sweet and considerate of you." Jiraiya had turned from the pantry, holding the bread that had been in there for at least two months. "As if I would miss your rotten ass." 

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    Naruto sat in his small dingy room with the lights off, the only light source being the sunset that was just producing enough light to where blue eyes could see the basics in his room. The orange tinge made him feel warm, like a fire was in his chest, scorching everything it touched, flames licking up his throat and into the back of his mouth. He swallowed hard to try and erase the acidity that was left by the sensation. Naruto had always been like this, when his emotions ran high, no matter what emotion, anger, sadness, anxiety, he would throw up. It started after his parents died. There was a time, specifically after their passing, that he would throw up practically every day. Regardless of the contents of his stomach, full or not at all, he'd toss whatever was there.

    If he held everything in for too long, he's not someone to talk about his issues, he's burst eventually, usually in bouts of anger. Naruto did his best to conceal it from his friends, he didn't want them knowing how frustrated he was inside.

    They were so perfect, angels to him, he didn't want to burden them, Naruto always knew he was a bit much to handle. He just wished someone would handle him, hold him. The only physical interaction he got was from his friends. Maybe they had all started their dog pile like habits because they knew he needed it. How would they know he needed it?

    Did they need it as much as him?

    He pondered it a bit longer before slipping into a sleepy states, suddenly wishing his two friends were there in his twin bed, eating up his personal space. He wished there presence would eat up all of his bad thoughts and they could just stay like that forever.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if this is worth writing! I’d love to drop the next chapter if anyone is interested and waiting!


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